


Power Rangers Brave Police

by BloodLily16



Category: Brave Police J-Decker, Power Rangers
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, POWER RANGERS AU, also there's going to be an NGE-esque scene later on, i can't say the specifics but it's Not Fun for the characters involved, light body horror because i made the putty patrollers creepier, past interstellar war
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:10:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9230327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodLily16/pseuds/BloodLily16
Summary: When the evil sorcerer Victim O'Rand emerges from his 10,000 year imprisonment on the moon, Saejima and his helper, Azuma 5, need to find five teenagers with incredible strength of heart. Deckerd, Dumpson, McCrane, Power Joe, and Drill Boy are recruited to be the Power Rangers, and to protect the planet Earth against Victim's evil monsters!





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> I blame bravepolicej-deckerd and psyche-angel. I took this and ran with it.

The sun was rising, sending glare shooting across the astronauts’ visors as they walked across the surface of the moon.

Suddenly, one of the astronauts stopped, grabbed the other’s arm, and pointed at something off in the distance. “Look at that, will ya?”

Resting in an impact crater was a boxy object that looked something like a dumpster. It was pitted with scars from countless collisions, but it was still a vibrant shade of red, standing out against the ashen surface of the moon. The astronauts walked over and inspected it, searching for an opening. 

As they did, one of the astronauts found a ruby-like gem on the top. “Hey, look at this!” he said, reaching out and touching it. 

The gem glowed blindingly bright, and the astronauts recoiled as the door of the dumpster opened with a clang and a hiss. 

Immediately, a hand emerged from the dumpster. It had blue skin and claws, and its face, when it emerged, was grotesque and lumpy, the same shade of corpse blue as it face, and with eyes the same shade of blood red as the dumpster. 

It was shoved out of the dumpster by another monster, this one covered in black fur, with what visible skin it had a paler shade of blue than the first monster’s, and bat-like wings, who pulled out a furry monster with an aged appearance and a face like a dragon.

Finally, a monster with a hideous, ape-like face emerged, with gold armor, royal blue skin, and oily hair protruding from its golden helmet. It turned to the astronauts, frozen in terror, and grinned. 

“Thank you,” it said mockingly, its voice somehow audible despite the vacuum of space.

“Victim!” shouted the first monster. “Victim, wake up! We’re free!” 

The astronauts tried to run, but the gold-armored monster pounced on them and held them in place with an iron grip as a man with a large, ornate set of robes and long, seaweed green hair rose from the dumpster, stretching. 

“10,000 years,” he said, looking up at the dark, starry sky. “10,000 years I’ve been trapped in this dumpster!” He spat on the dumpster and turned her attention to the astronauts, yellow eyes gleaming. “Well, well, well.” He took a step forward, his long, black robe kicking up dust. “What have we here?”

“I don’t recognize the species,” said the dragon monster, creeping forward for a look. 

“Then it’s a good thing you’re a monster maker, and not an anthropologist!” Victim spat. “They might be advanced, but I know a human when I see one!” 

The dragon monster cowered. “I apologize, my Lord Victim.” 

Victim glanced behind him. The earth was just beginning to rise over the horizon, with North America visible. 

“It’s no matter,” said Victim. “10,000 years or not, this primitive mud-ball should be child’s play to conquer. Finster! Squatt! Baboo! Set to work creating an appropriate palace. And Golran?”

“Yes, Lord Victim?” asked Golran. 

“Execute the humans,” said Victim. 

“Of course,” said Golran, unsheathing his blade. 

 

***

 

On earth, in an ancient stronghold, a small robot stared at the view globe in horror as he realized exactly what the readings meant.

“Saejima!” he shouted. “Wake up! We’ve got trouble!” 

Behind him, a blue tube glowed, and the image of a man’s face appeared. He had wild, gravity defying hair, and a handlebar mustache. He opened his eyes, and the image flickered slightly. 

“What is it, Azuma?” he asked, sounding groggy, but cheerful.

“Don’t give me that tone, you lug!” shouted the robot. “Victim’s out! He’s escaped!” 

Saejima’s eyes widened, and his face turned serious. “Well then. It’s time. Azuma, I need you to find me five semi-developed humans with incredible strength of heart and—,”

“Wait wait wait, no!” Azuma 5 held or a servo and glared at Saejima. “No! No, no, no! We are _not_ going to recruit a bunch of human teenagers to fight Victim!”

“They’re our best shot.”

“Humans are primitive, backwards, xenophobic sacks of flesh, who revel in violence!”

“I’m not asking for those kinds of—,”

“And human teenagers are even worse! They’re raging cyclones of hormones! Their brains aren’t even fully developed!”

“Which is why they’ll be able to interact best with the power b—,”

“They’re loud, they’re overbearing, they’re immature—,”

“Azuma,” sighed Saejima. “Just do it.” 

 

***

 

Deckerd scrolled through his emails, leaning up against the wall of the activity room. He opened one from Azuki and read through it, oblivious to the world until someone tapped on his shoulder.

“Who’s that?” asked McCrane, pointing at the cellphone.

“Azuki,” said Deckerd, glancing up. “She wants me to go to the store after this.” 

“Hm,” said McCrane. 

“She can’t make it?” asked Dumpson, looking up from his weightlifting. 

“She’s cramming for a test,” said Deckerd. “She says she won’t have time.”

“She can’t shop, but she can cook?”

“If she can’t cook, then Deckerd’s going to have to,” said McCrane, smirking. 

Dumpson laughed. 

“Ha ha ha,” said Deckerd, giving them both stern looks. “That’s not funny.”

“I think it’s hilarious,” said Dumpson.

Deckerd snorted. “You’re both incorrigible.” 

“And yet we’re your best friends,” said McCrane. 

“That’s because I don’t have any better choices,” said Deckerd. 

“Was he just complimenting how awesome we are?” asked Dumpson, grinning from ear to ear.

“I think so,” said McCrane. “Deckerd, if you like us so much, just say so.”

Deckerd laughed. “Not until you stop insulting my cooking skills.”

“Your cooking skills are on the same level as McCrane’s pacifism,” said Dumpson. “We can’t insult something that doesn’t exist.”

McCrane gave Dumpson a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re a bad pacifist.” 

“I am not!” 

“Just last week you got detention for fighting!”

“I was provoked!” 

Dumpson rolled his eyes, then started as he noticed something. “Oh, hey.” He pointed behind McCrane and Deckerd. “Power Joe and Drill Boy are here.”

They turned and watched as Power Joe came in with an over-excited Drill Boy, who was wearing what looked like Power Joe’s old gi.

Deckerd couldn’t help but chuckle at the obviously one-sided conversation as Drill Boy yammered away to his older brother, and he moved closer so he could listen in. 

“Did Deckerd say anything?” asked Drill Boy, bouncing up and down. 

“About what?” asked Power Joe.

“About teaching me!” 

“Yeah,” said Power Joe, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He said you were a hyperactive wing-nut and he was scared for his life.” 

“He did _not!_ ” 

“Well if you don’t take a d*mn chill pill he’s going to think so!” Power Joe said, pinching Drill Boy’s cheeks.

Drill Boy slapped Power Joe’s hands away. “You’re so mean!” 

Power Joe rolled his eyes, but froze when someone put a hand on his shoulder. “Who’s that?”

Drill Boy froze in place, quaking.

“Hey boys,” said Red, his brother Blue standing right behind him. “Something the matter?”

“Oh come on!” Power Joe smacked his hand away and wheeled to face them. “Geez, ya creeps! What’s your problem?”

“You know what our problem is,” said Red, shoving Power Joe back. 

“Leave him alone!” Drill Boy tried to hit Red, but Blue caught his hand. 

Power Joe glared at Red. “Buzz off.” 

“Or what?” Red tried to shove Power Joe again, but Power Joe caught his arm and flipped him over his head, onto the nearby mat. 

The room rang with laughter, but Red stood up and glared, and the room went silent. 

“You’re a real piece of cr*p, Itohara,” said Red, cracking his knuckles. “Blue?”

Blue shoved Drill Boy to the side and loomed up behind Power Joe, also cracking his knuckles.

Power Joe started to look nervous, and Deckerd prepared to break it up.

“That’s enough.” 

Heads turned as Dumpson walked up to the Chieftain Brothers, scowling at them. 

The Chieftain Brothers suddenly looked a lot less sure about their odds. 

“Buzz off,” said Red, puffing his chest up.

“I don’t think so,” said Dumpson. “Power Joe and Drill Boy were minding their own business, and you came up and started acting out. And I’m sure if I get the Youth Center Head, she’ll agree.” 

Red and Blue exchanged glances and backed off. Power Joe grabbed Drill Boy and dragged him away, following Dumpson over to where Deckerd and McCrane were standing. 

“Are you okay?” asked McCrane.

“Yeah,” said Power Joe. 

“What was that about?” asked Deckerd. 

“He’s probably still mad about me filling his backpack with shaving cream,” said Power Joe. “Either that or he’s mad because more girls like me than him.” 

McCrane rolled his eyes. 

“Deckerd!” said Drill Boy.

“Yes?” asked Deckerd, looking at Drill Boy. 

“Thanks for agreeing to teach me karate!” Drill Boy’s eyes were glittering with excitement. 

Deckerd chuckled. “It’s no problem. Are you ready for your first class?”

Drill Boy nodded at supersonic speed.

“He’s been talking my ear off all day.” Power Joe rolled his eyes. 

“Well,” said Deckerd, “we’ll see if we can’t channel that energy, now shall we?”

 

***

 

After karate class, they stopped at the drink shop to rest. 

“You did good, Drill Boy,” said Dumpson. 

“No I didn’t,” Drill Boy mumbled from where he was slumped onto the table.

“Yes you did.” 

“No I didn’t.” 

Dumpson sighed and looked over at Deckerd. “Help me out here, would you?”

Deckerd nodded. “You really did do well for your first class, Drill Boy. I was impressed.” 

Drill Boy peeked up. “Really?”

“Really,” said Deckerd. 

“I think he did okay,” said Power Joe. “This being his first time and all.” 

“So did I,” said McCrane.

“Not as good as _me_ , of course.” Power Joe smirked.

Drill Boy rolled his eyes, and McCrane punched Power Joe in the arm. 

“I thought I was bad,” said Drill Boy. “I fell over.” 

“Everyone falls over now and then,” said Deckerd. “It’s okay.” 

Drill Boy smiled. “Thanks—,”

He was cut off as the building began to shake. 

“Earthquake?” asked McCrane, looking around. 

“Maybe,” said Deckerd. 

“This doesn’t feel like it’s just an earthquake,” said Power Joe, looking around. 

“Let’s just wait until it stops,” said Dumpson. 

But it got worse. The building shook harder and harder until things started falling off of their shelves. 

Power Joe grabbed Drill Boy and dragged them both under the table. “DUMPSON ITS NOT STOPPING!”

“NO KIDDING!” Dumpson dove under the table, and soon all three of them huddled under the table. People were screaming and starting to panic as the shaking became worse and worse. 

Suddenly, time seemed to slow down. Deckerd shook his head, the but the feeling persisted. Screams were distorted like they were coming from an old landline connection, and Deckerd’s head felt compressed, like he was at the bottom of a deep, deep swimming pool.

“What’s happening?” asked Drill Boy. He has holding his head, and with a start, Deckerd noticed that the others looked like they were feeling something too. 

“I don’t know!” shouted McCrane, before there was a rush of color, and they disappeared. 


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gets a crash course in being heroes, fight Putty Patrollers, and pilot a giant robot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some liberties with the fight scenes to make them easier to write. Hopefully it's not too chaotic. 
> 
> Also, I changed some of the mentions of dinosaurs, because I am a gigantic nerd, and while I could let the Pterodactyl Zord fly (LOL), my nerd rage compelled me to change it so having a Mastodon and a Sabertooth Tiger in the group made sense. If this is an issue, I will be more than happy to alter the chapter and post a version somewhere else, but only if you ask nicely.

 

They reappeared in a gray and black room and sprawled out across the floor. 

“Where are we?” asked McCrane. One by one, they picked themselves off of the floor and looked around. 

On the far wall was an indentation with a blue, glass tube in the middle. There were two lines of control panels surrounding them, and each one was covered in buttons and levers.

“Out of the way!” 

The boys pressed against the consoles as a small robot whirled into the area and began checking some readouts. 

McCrane slowly walked up to the robot. 

The robot paused, and turned to face McCrane. It was small and squat, with spindly, chrome arms, and a strip of red light that were lit up in the shape of eyes instead of a face. It also, for some reason, was wearing glasses. 

“Excuse me?” it asked, sounding vaguely insulted. 

“Amazing,” said McCrane, his eyes wide with wonder. “A fully sentient, multi-function automaton!” 

“Amazing,” said the robot, its eyes widening. “A semi developed, talking sack of meat!” Its eyes narrowed in a glare. 

“Rude,” said McCrane, narrowing his eyes. 

“Hey!” Dumpson stormed over to the robot. “Don’t talk to him like that!” 

“Aaaand there’s another one,” deadpanned the robot. “We have an infestation. Oh no.” 

The tube glowed to life, and a grinning face appeared. “Azuma, don’t be so rude.” 

Drill Boy squealed and jumped into Power Joe’s arms. 

“Um, hello?” asked Deckerd, taking a step back. 

“Hello!” said the head. “My name is Saejima, and this is my faithful assistant and friend, Azuma 5.” He nodded at the robot. “Azuma, say hi to them.” 

“Hi to them,” deadpanned Azuma 5. 

Saejima sighed. “My apologies. He’s not very… fond of humans.” 

“You can say that ag—,” Azuma 5 whirled around and saw McCrane inspecting the console. “No! No, no, NO! Absolutely not!” He waddled over and swatted at McCrane’s hands. “Having you in here is one thing entirely, but there’s no way I’m having you touch my instruments! No!” 

“Why are we here, anyway?” asked Power Joe, eyeing Azuma 5’s ranting. 

“Because your planet is in grave danger,” said Saejima, his grin gone. The mood shifted in the room, and everyone stared at him as he continued. “The evil sorcerer, Victim O’Rand, and his servants have been released from their imprisonment. Victim is a cruel man, who wanted to rule the entire galaxy with an iron fist. And now that he’s free, he plans to start his conquest with your planet.” 

“N-no way,” said Dumpson. He shook his head. “No way. You’re kidding me.” 

McCrane averted his eyes, and Power Joe and Drill Boy exchanged glances. Deckerd kept his eyes on Saejima, searching for some sign that this was a prank. He couldn’t find anything.

“If you’ll look at the viewing globe behind you,” said Saejima, nodding his head, “you’ll find that we have some evidence.” 

They turned and saw a globe glow into existence, showing flickering images that looked almost like mugshots, with captions over the text, followed by a collection of pictures of them in action. Finster was shown making a clay monster, a living version of which was shown eating a tank in the next image. Golran, Squatt, Baboo, all inhuman, all seen tearing through platoons of armored soldiers.  

They were all so obviously inhuman that when Victim’s mugshot came up, his humanness was almost terrifying. A grainy video feed came to life, zooming in on Victim’s face as he threw his staff like a javelin from the deck of a spaceship. The camera zoomed back as the staff made contact, and filmed a bolt of lightning that struck where the staff had hit. There was a deafening roar as a monster grew until it was the size of a skyscraper. 

The globe turned off, and Azuma 5 bowed his head. 

Power Joe hugged Drill Boy close, his face pale. McCrane was bracing himself on the console, in a state of shock, and Dumpson’s hands covered his mouth. Deckerd’s fingernails bit into his palms, and he realized that he was close to drawing blood. 

“You understand why we need your help,” said Saejima. 

“How the h*ll do we fight something like that?” asked Deckerd. 

The room glowed with faint light, and suddenly, Deckerd’s belt felt heavier. He looked down to see a golden belt buckle gleaming at his waist. It was shaped like a police badge, and it had royal blue accents. He glanced around the room, and noticed that the others were checking their own belt buckles. There was also a weight in his pocket, and when he reached in to check, he pulled out a golden coin with the image of a T-Rex carved into its surface. 

“There are your power morphers and power coins,” said Saejima. “With their assistance, you can harness a universe of power, as well as you Zords.” The viewing globe came to life, showing robotic creatures doing battle with various monsters. “The Zords contain the power of your planet’s ancient creatures.”

“Deckerd, with your power and bold spirit, you will command the Tyrannosaurus Zord.” The atmosphere around Deckerd shimmered, and suddenly he was wearing a blue bodysuit and helmet with a Tyrannosaurus motif.

“Dumpson, with your strength and cleverness, you will command the Mastodon Zord.” The air around Dumpson shimmered, and suddenly he was wearing a red bodysuit and helmet, with was looked like a mastodon motif etched onto the helmet. 

“Drill Boy, with your intelligence and grace, you will command the Pterodactyl Zord.” The air around Drill Boy shimmered, and then he was wearing an orange helmet and bodysuit, with a pterodactyl motif, the head of which covered the bridge of his nose. 

“McCrane, with your patience and wisdom, you will command the Triceratops Zord.” The air around McCrane shimmered, and suddenly he was wearing a black helmet and bodysuit, with a triceratops motif and a small horn sticking out of his forehead. 

“And Power Joe, with your courage and agility, you will command the Sabertooth Zord.” The air around Power Joe shimmered, and suddenly he was wearing a yellow helmet and bodysuit, with a Sabertooth Tiger face on top of his helmet, the fangs of which went down over his visor.

“Your Zords will help you fight what you cannot on your own,” said Saejima, “and when the need is dire, they will combine into one Megazord, to defeat your most powerful foes.” 

The transformation disappeared, leaving them back in their regular clothes. 

“This is insane,” said Power Joe. “This is nuts. No way.” He grabbed Drill Boy by the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.” 

Drill Boy nodded vacantly and followed Power Joe.

“Yeah,” said Dumpson, edging back. “It’s been great, don’t get me wrong, but… wow.” He ran after them. 

McCrane followed without a word. 

“Wait a second!” Deckerd shouted, running after them. 

 

***

 

He finally caught up to them at the bottom of the rock formation the command center was built on. It was brown and dry, and surrounded by desolation. 

“Why are you leaving?” he asked, panting from the run. 

Power Joe stopped in his tracks. “Did you hear _any_ of that?” he asked, whirling around. “Did you _see_ that footage of that Victim guy making one of his soldiers into _Godzilla_? I don’t give a _cr*p_ if we have powers and giant robots, what the _h*ll_ are we supposed to do against something like _that_?”

“How can we not _try_?” asked Deckerd. “ _Especially_ if the alternative is him taking over the _planet_?” 

“I don’t know how to fight,” said Drill Boy. “I can’t even stand up against the Chieftain Brothers, how can I do anything against someone like _that_? He’s got _magic_ , Deckerd! He’s a real life sorcerer!” 

“I just…” Dumpson took a long, shaky breath. “It’s kinda a little much, isn’t it? One second, we’re hanging out, and the next we’re….” He gestured with his hands. “You know?”

“I want to agree,” said McCrane. “But honestly? Deckerd’s right. We don’t have a choice. We can sit around and wait for him to take over and either kill us or enslave us, or we can fight back. Win or lose, at least we did _something_.” 

Dumpson looked down at his feet. “Why us?”

“Because he thinks we’re the best for the job,” said Deckerd, stepping forward. “We all have families. We have friends. We need to think of them, too.” 

Power Joe and Drill Boy exchanged glances. 

Then, there was a flash, and a noise like scissors sliding through wrapping paper, and they were surrounded. 

They almost looked human. They had gray skin and limbs in the right places, but their faces were crude and slurred, like a third grader’s art project. They all looked exactly the same, and their black, blank eye sockets fixed on the five in a way that could only be described at menacing. 

“Oh G*d,” said McCrane. The clay men charged. 

Power Joe shoved Drill Boy behind him and punched a clay man in the face. It staggered back with an impression of his fist in his face. He hit it again and kicked it, and it fell back, but two others took its place. 

Deckerd sidestepped one as it charged and karate-chopped it, then kicked another clay man in the knee. There were way too many clay men; the odds were easily four to one. He gave one of the clay men an uppercut, and he saw Dumpson throw one of out the corner of his eye.

“Look out!” 

Deckerd whirled around to see a clay men ready to attack him, only for McCrane to grab it in a chokehold. Deckerd turned back around and saw the clay men he’d punched get back up.

“Hey McCrane,” he said, slipping into a fighting stance. “I think it would be a bad idea if we held back.” 

There was a wet _thwack_ , and then a thud. “Couldn’t agree more.” 

Deckerd gritted his teeth and palm-struck a clay man in the face. 

They fought for what seemed like an hour, but eventually the clay men threw them up against a rock outcropping and circled them, slowly closing in. 

“This is insane,” said Power Joe, slowly standing up. “What now?” 

“The morpher things!” Dumpson grabbed his off of his belt, and the clay men hissed.

“Well, then.” McCrane held his up. “Might as well.” 

The others grabbed theirs and held them up. 

“Ready?” asked Deckerd. 

“Ready!” chorused the others.

“Let’s morph!” shouted Deckerd. 

“Mastodon!” shouted Dumpson.

“Pterodactyl!” shouted Drill Boy. 

“Triceratops!” shouted McCrane. 

“Sabertooth Tiger!” shouted Power Joe.

“Tyrannosaurus!” shouted Deckerd. 

There was a flash, and then they were all wearing the Ranger outfits from earlier. 

The swimming feeling came over them again, and suddenly they were standing in a city street, standing right in front of Golran and more of the clay men, these with blades instead of their hands.

“What the h*ll?” yelped Drill Boy, jumping back. 

[Azuma 5 here.] A voice crackled next to their ears. [Victim sent Golran down. He and his  Putty Patrollers will cause grievous harm unless you stop him!]

“The Power Rangers!” snarled Golran. “Putty Patrollers! Kill them!” 

The clay men charged the Rangers. 

McCrane ducked under a swing from a Putty Patroller’s bladed arm and karate-chopped the Putty Patroller in the back. 

Another one tried to punch him and he blocked the hit, grabbing it by the wrist and twisting it behind its back. A Putty Patroller tried to sneak up on him from behind, but he whirled around and used the Patroller in his grip as a shield. It jerked in pain as its fellow stabbed it, and McCrane shoved them both away. 

Dumpson sidestepped a charge from a Putty Patroller and gave another an uppercut, then punched it in the throat with a right cross. It crumpled like a broken marionette, and whirled around in time to block a blow from another Putty Patroller. 

When the Putty Patrollers came at Drill Boy, his first instinct was to jump out of the way. He jumped, and before he knew it he was five feet above the heads of the Putty Patrollers. 

He yelped as he started to fall, and rolled to a stop behind the Putty Patrollers. They whirled around and charged him, and he jumped again, but this time he only went high enough so he could kick one in the head. 

He landed and grinned as they turned. “Bring it!” 

Power Joe, meanwhile, was mowing through his attackers. A Putty Patroller came up on his right side, brandishing its blade. Power Joe dodged the first swing and blocked the second. 

Another Putty Patroller swung at him, and he used the first one’s arm to block the blow.

Deckerd ducked under a punch. A Putty Patroller grabbed his arm, but he grabbed the arm and flung it forward into another one, dodged a thrust by a third’s blade hand, and grabbed it, breaking the arm over his knee. 

He flung the Putty Patroller away, but a fourth Putty Patroller punched him in the face, cracking his nose. 

Deckerd staggered back and swore, and the Putty Patroller pressed forward, only for Drill Boy to land behind it and karate chop it in the back. 

“Not bad!” Deckerd said, shoving Drill Boy to the side and palm-striking a Putty Patroller in the face. 

Drill Boy roundhoused a Putty Patroller in the face. “Thanks!”

“Don’t do high kicks on the street,” said Deckerd. “It’s dangerous.” 

“Okay.” 

Dumpson grabbed a Putty Patroller by the head and smacked it into another Patroller, knocking them both out. “Is that everyone?”

McCrane and Power Joe punched the same Putty Patroller at the same time. 

“All except for Lion-O over there.” Power Joe pointed. 

Golran glared, but suddenly, his eyes widened, and he grinned. 

“Guys, look!” Drill Boy pointed at the sky, as a long, thin shape appeared and grew larger and larger, until finally it was big enough for them to make out the shape.

“Oh G*d,” said Deckerd. “It’s Victim’s staff.” 

The staff hit, imbedding itself in pavement, and shot a bolt of yellow lightning at Golran. Golran roared as the ground beneath him crumbled under his own, increasing weight. Soon, he was easily fifty feet tall, and he raised a giant foot. 

“Oh look,” he said, bringing the foot down on top of them. “Bugs.” 

They jumped out of the way, and the shockwave of dust from the footfall sent them rolling across the ground. 

“Oh, _ow_!” Power Joe picked himself up off of the ground. “Everyone okay?”

“Yeah,” said McCrane. “What now?”

[Call the Zords!] shouted Saejima’s voice. [The Megazord’s your only chance against him!]

“How?” 

[Shout ‘Zord Power’!] said Saejima. [The Zords are ready! They’ll come!]

“Okay, then,” said Deckerd. He stood up. “On three! One, two, three!” 

“Zord Power!” shouted the Power Rangers. 

There was a rumbling that grew louder and louder, and they turned and looked to see gigantic robotic animals running toward them. 

“Let’s go!” Deckerd took off like a shot toward the Zords. The largest one, a blue, robotic T-Rex , looked at him, and before he knew it, Deckerd was jumping. The first time he only went five feet in the air. The second time, fifteen, and on the third jump, he soared, and landed squarely on top of the Zord. A hatch opened on the top of the Zord’s head, and Deckerd climbed in, landing in a small cockpit. 

He strapped himself in and reached for the controls. As soon as he touched them, there was electric shock in his mind, and then there was a deluge of pure concept. There were starry skies and vast reaches of periwinkle mountains and endless seas, too red to be anywhere on Earth. There were cities and hovels, fertile farmlands and burning ruins, scorched by nuclear weapons. There were battles upon battles, mourning, suffering, hope and joy, and then there were two words, like pure thunder. 

**I APPROVE.**

Deckerd’s ears were ringing as he put his hands on the controls, pressing buttons and flipping switches in perfect order. 

[Um, guys?] asked Dumpson. [Did anyone else—,]

[Oh yeah,] said Power Joe.

[The Zords have accepted you as their Rangers,] said Saejima. [Attack Golran, they’ll help guide you so you know what to do!]

“I’m ready to combine,” said Deckerd, hand poised over one last switch. 

[Ready on my end,] said Dumpson. 

[I’m ready!] said Drill Boy,

[Ready and waiting,] said McCrane.

[Let’s rock and roll!] shouted Power Joe. 

Deckerd flipped the switch. There was a satisfied whirring and groaning as circuits reactivated and unused gears began to move for the first time in millennia. Metal groaned and clanged, and Deckerd felt himself slowly rising higher as the other Zords changed shape and connected to him. 

The Pterodactyl Zord swooped down at him, transforming into a breastplate in midair. It connected with the front, and suddenly the cockpit opened up on the sides, and the others were moved in alongside him.

“Oh my G*d.” 

“Did you _see_ that?”

“That was _awesome_!” 

“Look out!” shouted Drill Boy, as Golran charged them with his sword drawn. 

Deckerd moved on instinct, pressing a sequence of buttons, and cranking a lever. “Dumpson!” 

Dumpson grabbed a joystick and pulled it to the right, and the Megazord’s arms flew up in a ‘x’, absorbing the hit. 

The control room shook with the force of the blow. 

“Okay, options, options, options!” Power Joe started pressing buttons. “Okay, hold on. Drill Boy—,”

“Oh!” Drill Boy flipped some switches. “So this goes on, this gets primed, and—,”

“Hold on,” said McCrane, talking at the same as Drill Boy. “I think I need to do this too, or it’ll be too clumsy—,” 

“I’m ready!” 

“And now!” Power Joe grabbed two handles that looked like something out of an evangelion and jerked them forward, as McCrane did the same from his end. 

“Dumpson!” shouted Deckerd, flipping a switch. 

Dumpson shoved the joystick forward, and the Megazord punched Golran in the face. 

“Again!” 

Dumpson tried to punch Golran again, but he caught the fist and flipped the Megazord over his shoulder. 

Power Joe and McCrane jammed their handles up, to the side, and back in one synchronized motion, and Drill Boy pressed and flipped a complicated sequence of buttons and switches as they fell. 

“Hold on!” shouted Deckerd as they hit the ground. 

The Megazord fell, shaking the ground and throwing them forward. 

“Dumpson!” shouted McCrane. 

Dumpson grabbed a second joystick and pushed them both forward, and the Megazord stood back up. 

Golran took another swing at them with his sword, and Drill Boy yelped, grabbing a pair of joysticks and jerking them back. The Megazord leaned back, just barely dodging. 

“Deckerd?” asked Dumpson. 

“Press forward and give him h*ll,” said Deckerd. 

“Alright!” 

The Megazord ran forward and blocked a sword slash with its forearm. Dumpson grunted and shoved a joystick forward, and the Megazord’s fist came up and socked Golran in the throat. Golran staggered back, hacking. 

“McCrane!” shouted Drill Boy, holding onto the joystick. “Kick him!” 

“Right!” McCrane grabbed his joysticks and lifted one up and forward as Drill Boy jerked his back. The Megazord front-kicked Golran in the knee. Golran doubled over, and the Megazord took a step forward.

“I’ve got this!” Power Joe jerked both of his joysticks up, and the Megazord’s knee connected with Golran’s face with a loud crack. 

Golran howled and staggered back as blue-black blood gushed from his snout. 

“This isn’t over!” he snarled. There was a flash of light, and Golran was gone. 

There was silence. 

“Did we win?” asked Drill Boy. 

[He teleported back up to the moon,] said Saejima’s voice. [You won!]

The Power Rangers cheered. 

“Give me five!” Power Joe high-fived McCrane. 

[When you’re done celebrating, get back to the Command Center,] said Azuma 5’s voice. [We need to finish briefing you.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't clear, I gave each of the Rangers their own way of operating the Megazord.
> 
> Dumpson controls the arms, Power Joe and McCrane each control a leg, Drill Boy controls the balance of the Zord (he helps with anything more athletic than a walk), and Deckerd controls the Zord's weaponry (which admittedly didn't come into play much).


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we get some glimpses of the home lives of the Power Rangers.

Deckerd rubbed the back of his head as he walked into the house, his other arm laden with groceries. The sun was starting to cast long shadows, and he was bone tired. Not to mention, nearly an hour late with the groceries. 

The soup pot was going strong in the kitchen. Deckerd set the groceries down and turned down the heat before it boiled over. 

“Deckerd, is that you?” The garage door opened, and Azuki poked her head into the kitchen. “There you are! Where were you?”

_“And above all else,” continued Saejima, “you cannot tell anyone about this. Using your abilities for glory or money or anything like that will dull your powers to the point where the power coin will actively reject your touch. Which isn’t pretty at all.”_

“I was with the others,” said Deckerd. “Drill Boy got lost and we had to find him.” 

“Couldn’t you just call his phone?”

“Dead battery.” 

Azuki nodded slowly and thoughtfully. “Yuuta was wondering about you.”

“Where is he?”

“In his room, doing homework.” She paused, picking up one of the bags. “Did you get green onions instead of spring onions?”

“They were half the price.” 

Azuki pursed her lips and shrugged. “Fair enough. Can you put these away? I need to put the pasta in the water.” 

“Sure.” 

Deckerd put the groceries away, while Azuki poured a box of shell noodles into the pot of water. 

“Are we having Italian again?” asked Deckerd, peeking over her shoulder. 

“No,” said Azuki. “Mac and cheese. I found a chart of what types of cheese pair well with what noodles, and I thought I’d try something fun.” 

“Is that what the blue cheese is for?”

“Mm-hm.” 

“Hey, look who’s back!” Kurumi climbed down the stairs. “Where were you, Deckerd?”

“Drill Boy was lost, and Deckerd helped find him.” 

“Really?” Kurumi looked up at Deckerd. “Geez. It took an hour to find him? Where was he, Vegas?” 

“He wasn’t that far,” said Deckerd. “He kept trying to find us, so we just chased him around for an hour before he stayed put.” 

“Sounds like him.”

“Kurumi!” said Azuki. 

Kurumi held up her hands. “Sorry.” 

“Deckerd,” said Azuki. “Why don’t you go upstairs and do some homework? Dinner won’t be ready for a while.” 

“Okay.” Deckerd climbed up the stairs to his room. It was small, but it was comfortable, and it was empty. He needed the solitude right now. He dropped his backpack by the bed and flopped on it, groaning. He fumbled for his iPod and turned it onto a random song. It was a pop song Kurumi had downloaded before she got her own account, but it wasn’t bad enough to change. 

Deckerd laid there until the song cycled out, then sat up and pulled out his homework for the day. He looked it over, rubbing his eyes. Math was busywork, as usual. English was childishly easy. Everything else was either busywork or easy, with the exception of German. 

Deckerd sighed and started filling out the worksheet. He’d google the math and history questions. Azuki would be disappointed if she found out, but considering everything that had happened, he didn’t care. English would probably take all of ten minutes. 

He’d finished German and was almost done with English when someone knocked on his door. 

“Yes?”

The door opened and Yuuta poked his head in. “Are you busy?”

“I need a break.” Deckerd slid his homework to the side, and Yuuta jumped up next to him. 

“Emily called me!” he said. “She says that somebody saw a giant robot fighting a giant lion man in the city.” 

Deckerd’s hand twitched. “Really?”

“She sent me a link to a youtube video, but I think it looks fake. Can I show you?” 

Deckerd nodded and pulled out his phone. Yuuta took it and pulled up the video. 

A grainy cameraphone zoomed in as a vague shape that looked like the Megazord and a vague shape that looked like Golran fought against a backdrop of skyscrapers. 

“Looks funny to me,” said Deckerd, trying not to gulp. 

“I’ll tell Emily!” Yuuta stood up and ran out of the room. “Thank you!” He shut the door behind him. 

Deckerd flopped back on the bed and groaned. “D*mn it.” 

 

***

 

McCrane rubbed his eyes as he finished his last math problem. If the math teacher didn’t have anything to teach them, what was the point of the homework? 

“Having any trouble?” 

McCrane looked up. “No. Just tired.” 

Mr. Mudra nodded. “You seem stressed.” 

“It’s been a very long day.” 

“I can’t believe you lost track of Drill Boy for an entire hour.” 

McCrane chuckled nervously. “I know right?”

Mr. Mudra’s frown deepened. “I’ve known him for nearly his entire life. I thought he grew out of that.” 

McCrane shrugged. “I thought so too. But I guess he didn’t.” 

“And he was okay when you saw him last?”

“Power Joe was giving him h*ll, but he was okay other than that.” 

“When isn’t Power Joe giving him h*ll?” Mr. Mudra shook his head. “Those two are like cats and dogs.” 

“They’re not that bad,” said McCrane. “They’re close, but not that bad.” 

Mr. Mudra shrugged. “Maybe not, but it seems that way sometimes.” 

“I know.” McCrane snorted. “Power Joe almost got into a fight with Red and Blue today.” 

Mr. Mudra groaned. “Those two again?”

“They’re probably still mad about the time he filled their car with shaving cream.” McCrane paused. “Or the time he told Red’s girlfriend he was cheating on her. Or any of the other times he messed with them. If it were anyone else, I’d say he has a death wish.”

“I still think he has a death wish.” 

McCrane snorted. 

“How’s Dumpson doing, by the way?” asked Mr. Mudra. “Coach said he was having girl trouble.”

“He _always_ has girl trouble.” 

“McCrane!” 

McCrane sighed. “It’s not like we’re the most popular kids in school, Dad. Dumpson can’t flirt to save his life, and I guess girls don’t think he’s interested. That or he’s sleazy.”

“We’re talking about Dumpson Oumura, right?” Mr. Mudra wrinkled his nose. 

“Granted. I’d say that maybe it’s because he’s a boyscout, but girls used to really like Deckerd…” 

“And we don’t call him ‘boyscout’ for nothing.” Mr. Mudra nodded and sighed. “Do you need any help with your homework?”

“No, I’ve got it.” McCrane looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you.” 

“No problem.” Mr. Mudra patted McCrane on the head. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I should  check the curry.” 

 

***

 

“Why’d you have to say I got lost?” hissed Drill Boy. 

“It came to mind,” said Power Joe. “We can’t tell Mom about the Power Rangers stuff, so I had to say _something_.”

“We should come up with a list of better excuses that _don’t_ involve me sounding like a twelve-year-old!” 

“Good idea, as long as you don’t put down stupid stuff!” 

“Don’t yell at me!” 

“Boys!” Mrs. Itohara stuck her head out of the kitchen. “Stop fighting!”

“Sorry Mom!” they chorused. 

“Why can’t you two get along?” she pursed your lips. “You like the same things, so why do you always fight about them?”

“Because he’s a little baby.” 

“Because he’s a bully!” 

They started and exchanged glares. “Am not!” 

“Why do I even ask?” grumbled Mrs. Itohara. “We’re going to have baked chicken tonight.” 

“Baked chicken?” 

“Really?” Drill Boy’s eyes lit up. 

“Since Drill Boy was so scared today, all lost and alone,” said Mrs. Itohara, “I thought I’d make his favorite.” 

Drill Boy snickered. 

“And don’t think I don’t see your sour face, Power Joe!” Mrs. Itohara pointed a wooden spoon at Power Joe. “If you don’t like it, you can cook your own dinner!” 

Power Joe looked down at his feet. “Can I just take some and put it on noodles?”

“What did I just say?” Mrs. Itohara sighed. “Go ahead. But clean up after yourself afterwards, and I still want your homework ready for tomorrow. None of that ‘do it on the bus’ nonsense!” 

“Okay,” said Power Joe. “I’ll do it after this.” 

Mrs. Itohara nodded and went back into the kitchen. 

Drill Boy elbowed Power Joe and looked up at him with wide eyes. “What do we do about our homework?” he whispered. “We can’t tell our teachers if we can’t do an assignment because we were fighting Victim.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” muttered Power Joe. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I bet Saejima has something worked out.” 

“What if he doesn’t?”

“Then he’d better start working it out.” 

 

***

 

Dumpson glanced up as the door swung shut. “Hey dad.” 

Coach scratched the back of his head. “Hey, Dumpson. Where’s your mother?”

“She had that pottery class tonight.” 

“Oh yeah, that’s right.” Coach checked the refrigerator. “Is tonight a pizza night?”

“That’d be great,” said Dumpson. “I got a late start on my homework today.” 

Coach glanced back at him. “Why’s that?”

“Drill Boy got lost for an hour and we had to look for him.” 

“You’re kidding me.” Coach pulled out his cell phone and looked for the number for the pizza place. “The last time he did that, he was, what, twelve?” 

“I think so, yeah.” 

“Geez.” Coach sighed. “Well, get what you can done. Did the math teacher give you a bunch of worthless questions again?”

“Yeah.” 

“What’s the d*mn point of that?” Coach found the number and called. “Might as well do it, it might help you out later—,” He stopped. “Oh. Yeah, I’d like to order two large sausage and pepperoni pizzas?” He glanced at Dumpson. Dumpson nodded. “Two large sausage and pepperoni pizzas. But one only has pepperoni on one side. Got that?” There was a pause. “Delivered, please. No, we don’t need any drinks, thank you. Have a nice day.” Coach hung up. “Need any help?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks.” Dumpson tapped his pencil against the table. “How was work?”

“Same as usual.” Coach rummaged in the refrigerator for a drink. “Everyone did their job. Some people did their job like cr*p, some did it well.” 

“And you did it well?”

Coach nodded, pulled out a can of diet Dr. Pepper, and opened it. “I give my all, like I always do.” 

“Right.” Dumpson looked back at his math homework and filled out another problem. 

“A friend on Facebook sent me a link,” said Coach. “It looks like a shot from a bad monster movie. Apparently some people saw a giant robot fighting a lion monster.” 

Dumpson’s throat went dry. 

“I told him he was an idiot and the people that filmed this were probably stoned.” Coach took a swig of his Dr. Pepper. “A giant robot fighting a giant monster. This isn’t an anime, right?”

“Right,” said Dumpson, staring down at the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I placed them with the Tomonagas and the Neighbors because, back when I was first fleshing them out, I was trying to think of personalities for their parents. After a while, I realized that, given my headcanons for the human braves and for the neighbors, they'd make good families, and I wouldn't have to come up with a bunch of new characters. 
> 
> The Tomonaga's situation is similar to what it is in canon, Mr. Mudra is married, but his wife's in the military and is stationed overseas, Coach's wife used to be a stay-at-home mom, but currently works as a temp, and Ms. Itohara is a widow.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, back into the main plot! These next few chapters are going to focus on Power Joe, with slight focus on Drill Boy. I'm going to try and share the spotlight between all the characters before we move on into some deeper plot. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter!

“Drill Boy!” Power Joe gulped and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Get down from there!”

Drill Boy gave him an impish grin from the top of the rope. “No.” 

“Drill Boy!” 

“If it bothers you so much just go up there and get—,” McCrane was cut off by a glare from Power Joe. “Oh. Right.”  

“What’s the matter?” asked Drill Boy. “Are you _scared_?”

“If you don’t come down here right now,” snarled Power Joe, “then _you’re_ going to be _terrified_.” 

“Stop threatening Drill Boy,” said Deckerd. “Just because you’re afraid of heights—,” 

“I have the same fear of heights that any sane person would have!” said Power Joe. “It’s not my fault that he’s _completely insane_!” He stabbed an accusatory finger up at Drill Boy. 

“It’s not my fault that you’re a chicken.” 

“ _Come down and say that to my face!_ ” 

Deckerd covered his face with his hands and groaned. 

Dumpson walked in, a gym bag slung over one shoulder. “Oh, come on. Not _again_.” 

“Yes, again.” McCrane rolled his eyes. 

“You guys _could_ take my side, you know.” 

“We’re not going to take sides.” 

“I’m just going to spar with Deckerd,” said Dumpson. “Leave me out of this.” 

“Sounds great,” said Deckerd. 

“What about me?” asked McCrane. 

“You can read ‘Pacifism for Dummies’,” offered Dumpson, walking off with Deckerd. 

“Shut up.” 

“Is that an actual book?” Drill Boy casually curled the rope around himself and sat down in the loop. 

“They wrote it when they heard about McCrane,” said Power Joe. 

“If you’re going to go after me like this, at least try to make your insults original.” McCrane rolled his eyes. 

“So…” Drill Boy slid down the rope in his makeshift seat. “About our ‘new line of work’.”

“Haven’t heard anything,” said McCrane. “But, I’ve been trying to analyze our… equipment.” 

“The morphers, right?”

McCrane rolled his eyes. “Yes, the morphers.” 

“I wanted to be sure that we weren’t slipping into innuendo.” 

“Right, I forgot who I was talking to.” 

Power Joe smacked McCrane on the back of the head. McCrane pinched Power Joe. Drill Boy laughed. 

“Anyway,” said McCrane. “I’ve been messing with them, and I found… well, I found something.” 

Drill Boy waved Dumpson and Deckerd over. “What is it?”

McCrane pulled out his phone and showed them an app. It had a generic-looking dinosaur on it, and it was named ‘Dino Power’. McCrane opened it to show a starting screen for a cheesy rip-off of the Google Chrome dinosaur game. 

“Now watch carefully.” McCrane adjusted his position slightly so his back was between him and the crowd of people by the door. He pressed the dinosaur six times in quick succession, and the app flickered, then a new screen appeared. It was a blue screen with a similar motif to the inside of the base, with a list of their names, alongside Saejima’s. There were three buttons at the bottom of the screen. One was yellow, one was red, and one was green. 

“You made an app?” asked Dumpson.

“Saejima made Azuma 5 help me,” said McCrane. He tapped the red button, and it went to a Game Over screen, with the T-rex avatar hanging its head in shame.

“So it’s for ‘work’?” asked Deckerd. 

McCrane nodded. 

The phone buzzed. 

“Speaking of which,” said McCrane. He opened the Power Rangers app. 

‘ _Rangers_ ’, read the message. ‘ _report to HQ ASAP_.’ 

Drill Boy slid down onto Power Joe’s shoulders. 

“Bathroom,” said Deckerd. “It’s private.” 

They ran out of the room, passing Red and Blue in the process. 

“Where are you losers going?”

Dumpson told him to do something anatomically impossible as they ran into the bathrooms and teleported away. 

 

***

 

“I see the application is working,” said Saejima. 

“I did an excellent job, didn’t I?” Azuma 5 puffed out his chest as much as a robot could. 

“Excuse me?” McCrane narrowed his eyes at Azuma 5. 

“You can argue about this later,” said Saejima. “But there’s an entire platoon of putty patrollers in…” He glanced at Azuma 5. “It’s called a State Park, right?”

“Something like that.” 

“At the nearby State Park.” Saejima nodded to himself, seemingly pleased with himself. “We need you to stop them, and take them out, without escalating matters.” 

“No morphing?” asked Deckerd. 

“No morphing.” Saejima nodded. “These are only scouts. It should be relatively easy to take care of them.”

A cell phone rang. Everyone turned to look at Power Joe. 

Power Joe reached into his pocket and checked his phone. “It’s from my mom.” 

“Go ahead,” said Saejima. “When you’re done, leave it here. Azuma 5 will install the application onto your phone. That goes for all of you.” 

Dumpson winced. “I left my phone in my locker.” 

“We’ll obtain it somehow.”

Power Joe walked out of the control room to a small, empty corridor and answered his phone. “Hi mom.” 

“Where are you and Drill Boy?” 

“We were talking with the others before we go home.” He paused. “Why?”

Mrs. Itohara sighed. “I’m going to be working late tonight.”

“ _Again_?” Power Joe’s grip on the phone tightened. 

“Don’t be like that!” Mrs. Itohara snapped. There was a pause. “I might get a raise soon. I won’t have to work so much then.”

“You always say that.” Power Joe sighed. “Drill Boy’s going to be p*ssed again.” 

“It’s not your fault.” 

Power Joe looked down at his feet. “You always say that, too.” 

“I….” Mrs. Itohara sighed. “It isn’t. I know we don’t talk about it, but I’m sure Drill Boy will understand. Maybe you can talk about it with him?”

“I’ll think about it.” 

Mrs. Itohara sighed. “There’s leftovers in the fridge, and I think we still have some soup stock. You could do something nice with the instant ramen.” 

“Drill Boy’s going to _love_ that.” He rubbed his face. 

“Mm.” 

There was a long pause. 

“Be safe.” 

“I will.” 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too.” 

“Goodbye.” 

“Bye.” Power Joe hung up and slumped against the wall and rubbed his face. “D*mmit.” He took a second to compose himself, then walked back into the command room. 

“What did Mom say?” asked Drill Boy. 

Power Joe took a deep breath. “She says she’s working late.” 

Drill Boy’s face drooped. “Oh.” 

Power Joe nodded. McCrane looked away, nervously, and Deckerd scratched the back of his neck. 

Azuma 5 gave them a hostile once-over, then turned to Saejima. “Are we ready?”

Saejima nodded slowly, eying Power Joe and Drill Boy. “I think we are.”

 

***

 

The state park was all but abandoned this time of year. It was cool, and the middle of the week, which meant that the series of lakes, rivers, and streams that normally brought in tourists lacked appeal, and all the people who fished were at work. Power Joe walked next to Dumpson, five yards ahead of Drill Boy and the others. 

“What’s all that about?” asked Dumpson quietly, eyeing the trees.

“Mom’s working late again,” whispered Power Joe, “and Drill Boy hates it when she does that.” 

“Why’s she working late?” 

Power Joe gave him a sour look. 

“Not this sh*t again!” Dumpson whisper-yelled. 

“Well if it weren’t for—,” 

“We both know what happens to you when you stop.” Dumpson put a hand on Power Joe’s shoulder. “And so does your mom. And so does Drill Boy.” 

Power Joe scanned the bushes. 

Dumpson swallowed and nodded. “You know that my mom would be happy to have you guys over for dinner one of these nights, right?”

Power Joe shook his head. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.” 

Dumpson sighed and patted him on the back. "I'm sure you will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner than later. Until then!


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today, we learn what it takes to get these two to bond with each other!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I was a little busy with other works.

 

They didn’t see anything for the first twelve minutes. The park was completely devoid of any signs of life. 

“You’d think there would be birds, or something.” Power Joe looked around nervously. 

“Maybe something scared them off,” said McCrane, effectively putting an end to any light conversation. 

Deckerd kept slightly behind the group, and turned around at random intervals. At one point, they heard a loud crashing noise, and jumped out of their skin. Deckerd whirled around, fists at the ready, and paused.

“It’s a fallen branch.” McCrane sighed with relief, and Drill Boy crawled down from where he’d jumped into his arms. 

Deckerd crept forward and checked the break on the branch. “It’s not cut. It probably fell naturally.” He walked back to the others, and they continued walking. 

McCrane glanced at Drill Boy. “Are things okay with you and your family?” he asked quietly.

Drill Boy shook his head slowly. “Mom’s just working a lot. I don’t get to see her a lot, between soccer and school and everything.” He paused. “And Power Joe can’t cook.” 

McCrane smirked, but then his face fell again. “Is something wrong?”

Drill Boy shook his head. “I don’t think so. But nobody tells me anything.” He paused. “I think Power Joe thinks I’m stupid, because he never tells me about anything serious.” 

“What’s going on?” Deckerd picked up his pace and leaned in. 

“Your brother doesn’t think you’re stupid!” McCrane hissed. He paused and looked around. “Listen. I’ve known him since kindergarten, and after all that time, I can count, on one hand, the amount of times he’s talked about something that really bothered him without Dumpson and I asking him about it more than once. He might be a loudmouth, but if something serious is happening to anyone, including him, he won’t say a word unless you pry it out of him.”

“So I should ask?” whispered Drill Boy. 

“If you want to learn what’s bothering him,” said McCrane. 

Deckerd looked between the two of them, confused. “I’ll ask later.” 

“Probably a good idea.” 

Drill Boy stopped in his tracks. “Do you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Dumpson. 

A gurgling sound, like someone was gargling mud, echoed through the forest. 

“Son of a b*tch,” hissed Power Joe. 

“Off the path.” 

They hid in the woods as a pair of Putty Patrollers walked up, looking around and hissing in confusion. 

Deckerd signaled to McCrane. McCrane nodded and held up three fingers. 

Power Joe looked up ahead. 

McCrane held up two fingers. 

Drill Boy took a deep breath. 

McCrane held up one finger. 

Dumpson picked up a big stick. 

McCrane pointed forward, and they all lunged out of the bushes. 

Dumpson swung his stick at the first Putty Patroller’s head. It connected with a dull _thwack_ and the Putty Patroller crumpled to the ground. 

The second Putty Patroller charged Drill Boy, screeching like a demented cockatiel. Drill Boy sidestepped and it ran into a tree, punching it and flattening its hand into an unrecognizable mess. 

Drill Boy punched it in the head and it fell back, tearing its hand loose. It howled and lunged at Drill Boy. Drill Boy jumped back, and it fell to the ground. It scrambled back up and tried to run away, but McCrane clotheslined it and it fell to the ground, completely still. 

Footsteps came from the direction the Putty Patrollers had come from. 

“D*mmit!” Dumpson tossed his stick to McCrane, who whirled it through the air and struck a battle stance as a dozen putty patrollers came at them from the woods. 

“Dumpson, Power Joe, Drill Boy!” Deckerd karate-chopped a Putty Patroller in the throat. “Draw them off! We know this place better than they do! McCrane and I will deal with the others!” 

McCrane stabbed a Putty Patroller in the eye with his stick and flung it back into its fellows. 

Power Joe grabbed Drill Boy’s hand. “This way!” They ran along the path, drawing a trio of putties after them. 

Power Joe flashed back to childhood memories. At one point, he, his family, and Dumpson and McCrane had spent a Saturday here. They’d pretended that they were super spies, trying to stop an evil man with a robotic claw for a hand from taking over the world’s chocolate supply. It had ended with Power Joe’s grandmother scolding Drill Boy for accidentally ruining his shirt. 

_Look at us now,_ thought Power Joe.

They veered left at a fork in the trail, sprinting past the ‘DANGER, UNSTABLE CLIFFS’ sign. 

Drill Boy shook his hand free from Power Joe’s grasp and raced off ahead. 

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” shouted Power Joe.

“Trust me!”

Power Joe swore as he turned around and punched one of the putties in the face. His fist made a dent, sinking in a good two inches before it hit something solid. The Putty hissed and clawed at its face. Power Joe grabbed its forearms and tried to push it back. The other two Putties ran past him, transfixed on Drill Boy. 

Power Joe stomped on the Putty’s foot, grinding it into the ground. The Putty howled and lunged forward, into Power Joe. Power Joe caught himself on a tree, breaking the fall, and the Putty Patroller took the opportunity to punch him in the face. Power Joe felt his nose crunch, and yowled. The Putty Patroller raised its fist again, but Power Joe rolled over, sending the Putty rolling down the hill. 

He scrambled to his feet and looked up at Drill Boy. His eyes widened. 

There was a large cliff, overlooking the town below. One of the areas on the cliff was infamous for being unstable, with massive signs and yards of caution tape around the area. Drill Boy vaulted over the tape, and the Putties followed suit. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” screamed Power Joe. 

Drill Boy didn’t hear him, or didn’t care. A Putty Patroller tried to grab him, but Drill Boy front kicked it in its thigh, sending it stumbling back to the edge. The ground crumbled, and the Putty screeched as it fell, before it hit the ground below with a thud and went silent. 

The second Putty stopped in its tracks, head moving between Drill Boy and the cliff where its fellow had fallen. Drill Boy charged it. The Putty Patroller side-stepped it, and Power Joe was sure that he was going to fly off the cliff to the ground below, but Drill Boy turned on his heel, using his momentum to grab the Putty and fling it off to the edge. 

The Putty dove forward as the cliff began to crumble, and grabbed at Drill Boy. 

Power Joe ran forward, but the Putty he was fighting grabbed his ankle, and he fell to the ground as the Putty Patroller Drill Boy was fighting snagged his shirt, and they both fell off the cliff. 

Power Joe turned his head back to the Putty and kicked it, as hard as he could,in the head. Something crunched like a bag of pretzels, and the Putty went limp. Power Joe scrambled to his feet and ran to the cliff’s edge on shaky legs. 

Each step felt like he was walking on the surface of a planet with ten times the gravity of Earth. He could see it, Drill Boy’s corpse next to the putties’, cold and limp, and—

Power Joe knelt down and crawled to the edge. The Putties were in pieces, dashed into bits by the rocks below. Power Joe looked for Drill Boy, but didn’t see anything human-looking. 

He shook his head. And looked again. Nothing. 

He looked around, and saw a flash of bright orange. Drill Boy! He was lying on a small ledge underneath an outcropping that looked like it might have been a hand hold. 

Power Joe leaned back and covered his mouth with his hand and tries to calm his breathing. Drill Boy’s alive. _He’s alive._  

Power Joe took a deep breath and tried to stop the tears that were streaming down his face. _Thank God._

He scooted off of the unstable area and looked down. There were a small series of ledges, just enough for hand and foot holds. 

The ground below, covered in sharp rocks, seemed to spin. Power Joe gritted his teeth and began to climb down. 

 

Drill Boy was just barely conscious by the time Power Joe reached him. 

“Can you hear me?” asked Power Joe, slowly easing onto the ledge. 

Drill Boy groaned and looked up at him. “Power Joe?”

“Oh thank _God._ ” 

Drill Boy pushed himself up so he was sitting. He had a bruise on his forehead that was bleeding a little bit. “‘R you okay?”

“Yes!” Power Joe hugged him. “What about you?”

“I hit m’ head _really_ bad.” Drill Boy shook his head. “And I grabbed onto the rock, but my fingers got all hurt and bloody.” He paused. “Your nose is bloody on my shirt.” 

Power Joe pulled back a little bit and wiped his nose. His hand came back covered in blood. “I got punched.” 

Drill Boy chuckled weakly. “Mom’s gonna be _mad._ ” 

Power Joe swallowed. “I’m sorry.” 

“F’ what?”

“Mom’s away a lot,” said Power Joe. “And I know you’re probably mad at me because of it…”

“Why would I be mad at _you_?”

“Because of all my medical stuff—,” 

Drill Boy pulled away, managing to look horrified despite the dazed look on his face. “No. Nuh-uh. I’m not mad at you because of anything like that!” 

“You’re…” Power Joe hesitated. “You’re not?”

Drill Boy shook his head. “You don’t tell me anything. And you’re always moping. And you’re kinda mean. But, I mean, I know that when Dad…” Drill Boy swallowed. “I know that hospitals are expensive. And funerals are too. And college and everything else? But that’s stupid stuff. You’re not stupid stuff.” 

Power Joe managed to chuckle.   
“There is one thing that I don’t like, though?” Drill Boy nodded to himself. “Your cooking tastes like sh*t.”

Power Joe laughed. “I’ll be sure to tell mom you said that.” 

Drill Boy leaned into Power Joe’s shoulder. “It only takes me getting almost killed to get you to talk to me about important stuff, huh?”

Power Joe hugged Drill Boy. “I’ll try not to be so secretive next time, okay?”

“M’kay.” 

They sat in silence for a while.

“Hey, Drill Boy.” Power Joe looked around. “We should go and help the others.” 

“Yeah.” Drill Boy paused. “Power Joe?”

“Yeah?”

“I hafta puke.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We still have the Zord battle for the next chapter, because the action scenes were wordier than I thought they'd be.
> 
> Also, please excuse my attempts at concussed speech.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the final part of the current story arc, the team gets put to the test by Bones, Squatt, Baboo, and poisonous gas. And also by another giant skeleton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has it really been a month since the last chapter? Whoops! I was working on about three other stories, including one I had to finish before school let out, so this got shoved to the side. On the bright side, it's about 2500 words long, so I hope that makes up for it!

“D*mmit!” McCrane kicked a tree with all his might. It cracked, and when he drew his foot back there was a dent roughly the size and shape of his boot in the trunk. 

“Calm down, McCrane!” Dumpson tossed the last remaining piece of Putty Patroller into the gorge. “It’s Drill Boy and Power Joe. They probably just ran too far and got a little lost.” 

“Saejima says to leave the pieces.” Deckerd handed McCrane’s phone back to McCrane. “They’ll decompose back into clay within a week.”

“Good to know,” said Dumpson. 

“You’re mom’s taking that pottery class, isn’t she?” asked McCrane. “Maybe you can come back and bring her some of that clay.” 

Dumpson rolled his eyes. 

“Are you serious about that, or…” Deckerd raised a finger, ready to text Saejima. 

“I’m joking.” McCrane thought for a second. “Mostly.” 

Dumpson dusted off his hands. “Deckerd, can you text Power Joe?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know if—.” Deckerd was cut off by a text alert from his phone. “Oh.” 

“What was that?” McCrane stood on his tip-toes and looked over Deckerd’s shoulder.

“Power Joe and Drill Boy are out by the cliffs,” said Deckerd. “Drill Boy has a concuss—”

“Sh*t!” Dumpson turned and ran up the trail. Deckerd and McCrane exchanged glances and followed.

When they arrived at the cliffs, the first thing they noticed was the torn safety tape around the cliffs. 

“Power Joe?” called Deckerd. 

“Down here!” shouted Power Joe. 

McCrane crept close to the edge and looked down. “Oh, sh*t.” 

“ _No sh*t._ ” 

“How bad is it?”

“Drill Boy’s still conscious. I don’t know if he was out or not before I reached him, though.” 

McCrane pulled out his phone and pressed a button. “Saejima?” 

“Yes?” asked Saejima’s voice. 

“We’ve run into trouble. Drill Boy has a concussion.” 

“ _What?_ How?”

“A putty pulled him off of a cliff!” shouted Power Joe. 

Saejima said something in an alien language that sounded extremely rude. “Does he have his power coin with him, still?”

“Yeah.” 

“I need you to stand about a meter away from him. Azuma-5, what’s the medbay status?”

“We’re good for simple combat injuries,” said Azuma-5’s voice. “Ready to teleport him directly to medbay on your signal, sir.” 

“Give me a second!” said Power Joe. There was a moment of silence. “You’re sure he’s going to be okay?”

“Given supplies and the facilities, I can reattach severed limbs with ease,” snorted Azuma-5. “A simple concussion should be drone’s-play.” 

Power Joe didn’t offer any objections. “I’m away from him.” 

“Teleporting now.” 

A beam of orange light shot up from below the cliff. 

“He’s in the medbay. Vital signs are stable. Treatment is beginning now.” 

The rangers sighed in relief. 

“Too close,” muttered Dumpson. 

Deckerd patted him on the back. 

Power Joe climbed up, and he and McCrane joined the others. 

“Um, Saejima.” Azuma-5’s voice had a note of fear in it. “I’m detecting something—,” he gasped.

“What is it?” Saejima’s voice was sharp. 

“Victim.” The Rangers could faintly hear Azuma typing on the console. “He’s sent a monster… but that’s not all. He’s sent some sort of device, but I don’t recognize what it is. Take a look.” 

“Actually, this looks…” Saejima trailed off. “Oh.” 

“Is something wrong?” asked Deckerd. 

“I recognize the device.” Saejima’s voice sounded flat. “It generates a rip through the fabric of space and time into a pocket. It’s a version of one of Victim’s spells that I have…” He swallowed. “I have _personal experience_ with this one.” 

“Define ‘personal experience’,” said McCrane. 

“Haven’t you ever wondered why I’m a floating blue head?”

Deckerd bit his lip. “I see.” 

“I can’t hack it from here,” said Azuma-5. “It’ll have to be shut down, and the monster needs to be fought.” 

“Then there’s no other choice?” asked Dumpson. 

“I…” Saejima swallowed audibly. “I’m afraid not.” 

Deckerd gulped. “Well then.” 

“If you transform, I can teleport you right there,” said Azuma-5. “You’ll likely need the power.” 

“Understood.” Deckerd looked around at the others. They nodded. 

“At your leisure,” said Azuma-5. “HQ out.” 

McCrane put his phone back in his pocket and pulled out his morpher. “Ready when you guys are.” 

Power Joe gulped and pulled out his morpher. “For Drill Boy.” 

“For Drill Boy.” Dumped pulled out his morpher. 

“For Drill Boy.” Deckerd nodded, morpher in hand. “Let’s do this.” 

“Let’s morph!” shouted Deckerd. 

“Mastodon!” shouted Dumpson.

“Triceratops!” shouted McCrane. 

“Sabertooth Tiger!” shouted Power Joe.

“Tyrannosaurus!” shouted Deckerd. 

As they morphed and the armor formed, there was a tugging sensation as they teleported. But suddenly, there was a lurch, and they spilled out, fully morphed, onto igneous rock and soil. 

“What the h*ll was that?” shouted Power Joe.

[In a word?] asked Azuma-5. [Nothing good. The teleporter stream glitched out, and I think that it was hacked.]

“By who?”

[I dare you to guess.] Azuma-5’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. [I’ll see if I can reverse it, but there’s no way that you’re not about to be amb—.] The comms cut off.

“Azuma-5?” asked Deckerd. There was no response. 

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess we’re being jammed,” said McCrane. 

“Or you could say we’re _in_ a jam,” said Power Joe. 

Deckerd looked around. The sky was an acidic, rotting green. Fumes and smog billowed up around them. The ground was a mixture of black, red, and green, and it looked like an infected sore. Ditches and dry riverbeds glowed bright orange with rivers of lava. 

“Power Rangers!” 

They whirled around to see a creature that looked like a horribly mutated skeleton with a wizard’s hat standing on top of a ridge. 

“Prepare to meet your maker!” it crowed. 

“Victim’s monster?” asked Dumpson. 

The monster jumped down, summing a sword while in mid air. 

“Victim’s monster!” Power Joe shoved McCrane out of the way as the monster jumped into their midst. 

The monster swung its sword at Deckerd. He jumped back, and sword cut a deep gash in the rock below them. 

“Careful!’ shouted Deckerd. The monster swung again. Decker ducked the blade and punched it in the stomach. There was a loud crack, and Deckerd jumped back, shaking out his hand. 

Dumpson grabbed the monster from behind and tried to suplex it. He lifted it off of the ground and slammed it into the ground, shoulder first. 

The monster howled and clawed at Dumpson’s face. Dumpson scrambled away, and the monster stood up on shaky feet. 

McCrane charged it, a rock in his hand, and slammed it on the injured shoulder. The monster punched him in the gut, then in the face. McCrane flew back and almost landed in a river of magma. 

“You okay?” shouted Dumpson. 

McCrane gave him a thumbs-up. 

Power Joe ran, jumped, and sailed through the air as he delivered a dropkick to the monster’s chest. The monster stumbled back and caught him by the foot. He swung him like a club and hit Dumpson. Deckerd grabbed the monster’s leg and pulled it out from under him, but the monster caught him in the facemask with its sword. 

“Deckerd!” shouted Dumpson. 

“I’m okay.” Deckerd staggered back. The air stunk of sulphur, and his eyes began to water. 

Dumpson grabbed a rock and flung it at the monster’s damaged shoulder. It bounced off, and he noticed that the massive spiderweb of cracks that had been there was gone. 

“What the h*ll?”

“Oh no,” said Power Joe. “He regenerates?” 

The monster cackled. Deckerd charged it, but the monster knocked him back. 

Deckerd gasped for air as his head started to swim. 

“Is that all you’ve got?” crowed the monster. Behind him, McCrane picked up a broken rod of rock and swung it at the monster’s head. The head detached and sailed through the air, landing right next to Dumpson. 

“Into the lava!” shouted McCrane. 

Dumpson picked it up and threw it into the river of lava that McCrane had nearly fallen into. The head disintegrated in the heat, and the body turned to ash. 

Power Joe stumbled to his feet and kicked the ashes. “How’d you know it’d do that?” 

“Lucky guess,” said McCrane. “We have bigger problems anyway.” He pointed up on a hill. 

“Squatt and Baboo?” asked Dumpson. 

“Oh G*d, is that a bomb?” Power Joe pointed at the cartoonish-looking ball they were fiddling with. Behind them was a structure that looked like a space shuttle. 

“Hurry up!” McCrane ran toward them. The others ran after him, with Deckerd lagging behind.

Squatt and Baboo looked up just in time to see an angry and desperate McCrane lunging for them. Baboo yelped and jumped out of the way as McCrane punched Squatt in the face. 

“The bomb!” shouted McCrane as Squatt snapped at him. 

Dumpson grabbed the bomb, but Baboo, in a momentary burst of courage, raked his claws across the front of Dumpson’s helmet. Dumpson shouted something unintelligible as Baboo knocked the bomb from his hands. 

There was a flash of white light, and then suddenly the world shifted. 

 

[—YOU READ ME?] shouted Saejima. [ANYONE!]

“Saejima?” McCrane stumbled back and looked around. The first thing that caught his eye was a Ferris Wheel, right next to a steel roller coaster. 

[McCrane?] Saejima sounded relieved. [Where are the others?]

Someone was retching behind him. McCrane turned around to see Deckerd, helmet half-off, vomiting onto the pavement. 

“We’re all here,” said Power Joe. He patted Deckerd’s back. “Deckerd’s in bad shape.” 

[According to my readings, he’s inhaled something that didn’t agree with him,] said Azuma-5. [What’s the status of his headgear?]

“There’s a break in his visor,” said Dumpson. “It must’ve been damaged during the fight.” 

[There must’ve been a leak,] said Azuma-5. [Deckerd, can you speak?]

“I—,” Deckerd coughed. “Barely.” 

[I’m detecting nearby civilians,] said Saejima. [And some sort of monster.]

“Another one?” yelped Power Joe. 

“Deckerd’s in no position to fight,” said Dumpson. Deckerd opened his mouth to protest, but coughed and hacked instead. 

[I’ll teleport him up momentarily.]

Power Joe took a step back, and then Deckerd was gone in a beam of blue light. 

“Where’s the monster?” asked McCrane. 

[Ten meters southwest of your position,] said Saejima. [And…] He paused. [Uh-oh.]

McCrane looked up and pointed. “Look!” 

The others looked up to see Victim’s staff come crashing down. They shielded their eyes as lightning crackled, the earth crumbled, and a second skeleton monster rose up from behind a building. 

“Uh-oh indeed,” said Dumpson. 

The monster reached from them, and Power Joe scrambled back as it grabbed McCrane and Dumpson. 

“Saejima!” he shouted. 

[We can’t beam them out!] shouted Azuma-5. 

[Then we’ll have to extract them the old fashioned way!] Saejima shouted. [Power Joe! I’ve sent your Zord!]

Thunderous footfalls shook the ground, and then the Sabertooth zord leapt over a line of buildings and landed in front of Power Joe. 

Power Joe jumped up and landed on top of the Zord’s head. A hatch opened, and he hopped in, landing in the cockpit. 

Power Joe grabbed the controls and rammed the joysticks forward. The Sabertooth Zord broke out into a run, and roared at the top of its lungs. Power Joe leaned forward in his seat, thinking of Drill Boy and Deckerd, and McCrane and Dumpson. 

A presence settled in the back of his mind, and he and it both pressed the button on top of the left joystick. 

The Sabertooth Zord sprung forward, sailing through the air. The Sabertooth Zord screamed, and Power Joe found himself screaming with it as he landed, paws first, on the monster. 

[Teleporting NOW!] shouted Azuma, somewhere far away. 

The Monster swung a fist and punched The Sabertooth Zord in the nose. Power Joe jerked back against his seat but leaned forward again. 

**LET’S FINISH THIS,** said the presence in the back of his mind. 

Power Joe held down the right trigger on the joystick, and the Sabertooth zord bit into the skull of the monster. Power Joe felt something that wasn’t there crunch in his mouth, with a texture like peanut shells. 

Adrenaline flooded in his veins as the monster tried to fight back, but Power Joe and the presence screamed as he (or was it they?) dealt a final blow. The Sabertooth Zord’s hands crushed the collarbone of the monster as it dissolved into dust. Power Joe pumped his paws in victory, and then suddenly, he felt dizzy. 

The presence in the back of his mind rumbled and drew back, and Power Joe collapsed back into his chair. He felt lightheaded, and his hands were shaking like they did when he spent too long working out. 

[Are you okay?] asked Saejima. [Your neural report was going a little haywire there.]

“I’m fine,” said Power Joe. He made a fist, and wondered why his hand felt like it didn’t belong on his wrist. 

 

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me,” said Azuma-5. “You _what?_ ”

“So you, what?” McCrane crossed his arms. “You mindmelded with your Zord?” 

“That shouldn’t be _possible!_ ” shouted Azuma-5. “We haven’t even finished repairing he weapons yet, but you started to lose yourself?” 

“So this isn’t some random glitch?” asked Power Joe. He rubbed his hand absentmindedly. 

“No,” said Saejima. “The Zords'…” He hesitated. “There’s not really a word for it in your language, but we’ll call them ‘AIs’. Your Zords’ AIs, chose you for two reasons. Reason one, because your personality mapped well to theirs. If your personalities conflicted, there would be issues dow the line. But the second and most important reason is because your brain’s compatible with their AI. So that they can go into your head, and you can, potentially, go into theirs. This can lead to, well, to your current disorientation, especially at first.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything about this earlier?” asked Deckerd. 

“For whatever reason,” said Azuma-5, “it’s happening far sooner than we expected. The Zords have talked to you, sure. They can talk to their rangers, and the friends and family of their rangers, even. But actually…,” he thought for a moment, “actually merging the Zord and the Ranger isn’t normally possible until later on. Even considering the Earth’s predicament, it doesn’t make sense. Rangers who were recruited from active warzones have longer acclimation.” 

“I’m sure we can figure it out in time,” said Saejima.

“Sooner rather than later, I hope.” Azuma-5 crossed his arms. 

“Wait.” Drill Boy raised his hands. “Weapons? Did you say weapons?” 

“Rangers have a standard sidearm and a special weapon,” said Azuma-5, “but repairing both of them is a pain in the chassis. For starters, most of the materials I need are either rare or horrendously overpriced on this planet. But I should be done with them within the next few days.” 

“What kind of weapons?” asked Deckerd.

“Old, but effective forms of weaponry,” said Azuma-5. “I’ll send a data packet.” 

“Before you go I have news,” said Saejima. “Victim’s attack, and your battle with the monster, were recorded by the ‘news media’. You’ll have to be much more careful from now on.” 

“Got it.” Power Joe’s throat felt dry as the others nodded in agreement. 

Drill Boy walked up to Power Joe. “Ready to go home?” 

Power Joe nodded. “Ready for my cooking?”

Drill Boy made a face. 

Power Joe laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the original episode had a different ending, but I needed a Power Joe-centric ending to the Power Joe-centric arc. (And I'm calling it an arc. This arc's twelve pages long and I've put more effort into it than I put into some of my original works.) 
> 
> In all seriousness though, this ended up a lot longer than I thought it would be, but I guess that's just life.

**Author's Note:**

> This is unbeta'd, so I apologize for any and all errors in the text.


End file.
